Newsletter

Whole school approach to student wellbeing

As a College, we have a long history of prioritising the wellbeing of our students. We believe that a student learns best when they feel a part of a community, they feel well and are functioning at their capacity. Our leadership team is continually reflecting and reviewing our policies and procedures to continue to strengthen and safeguard our safe and caring learning environment.  

This year, our Primary and Secondary Schools are working with the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) to construct a whole school approach to wellbeing at the College. We were one of the few schools who were successful in being admitted in AIS’s consultancy program through the application process. Over the last few years, we have had a strong desire to see a cohesive connection between Primary and Secondary around wellbeing, while also protecting the unique distinctives of each school.  We are excited about this partnership with AIS and the development of a wellbeing continuum for B-12. 

Throughout the 12 months of the initiative, we will be supported and enabled to achieve the following key outcomes:

• Establish new, or strengthen existing, whole-school practices and processes for monitoring and developing student mental health and wellbeing unique to our community

• Prioritise professional learning focused on developing staff knowledge, understanding and capacity to support student mental health and wellbeing

• Increase understanding of evidence-based, age appropriate interventions

• Establish networks and supportive relationships with wellbeing specialists beyond our College and other independent schools.

Our Stage Leaders will join with our Heads of School to be part of our team which will see the streamlining of policies between our two schools. We also look forward to expanding this partnership to our parents and community and sharing the insights and strategies of the initiative.

Nate Miller

Head of Wellbeing 7-12 

BCC Prayer Warriors

This year we are privileged to be able to run a monthly prayer morning. It’s a treat to pray for new families, students and staff, share some coffee and cake and enjoy great conversation. Everyone is welcome to join us on the first Monday of each month from 8:45am – 9:30am to pray alongside parents and local churches. Come for a bit, or come for the whole time. 

Please sign-in at the College Office. We meet near the Weathershed in the newly created College Garden. Simply follow the signs. 

For more information or to ask for personal prayer, please email prayerwarriors@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

Check out the prayer focus areas and upcoming dates in the image below. 

Prayer Points

1. Secondary camps (last week of term)- fun, protection/ safety and new friendships to be built.

2. Students and staff to finish this term well.

3. Safety for the cross country.

4. Prayer Warrior’s gathering on the 3 April as we pray for Easter and Secondary camp week.

5. For the upcoming holidays for safety and a time of rejuvenation, and reflection on Easter- Jesus dying on the cross and being raised again, for the forgiveness of our sins and so that we may have eternal life with Him.

Upcoming Important Dates

Primary

27.03.23 | Primary School Assembly
30.03.23 | Primary School Assembly
30.03.23 | Rise Up
31.03.23 | Year 4 Wildlife Park Excursion
31.03.23 | Year 6 Newcastle Museum Excursion
04.04.23 | Year 3 Australian Museum Excursion
05.04.23 | Primary School Assembly
06.04.23 | Rise Up

Secondary

28.03.23 | Secondary CSSA State Swimming
28.03.23 | Year 11 First Class Exhibition
29.03.23 | Secondary School Assembly
31.03.23 | Year 7 & 10 Vaccinations
03.04.23 – 06.04.23 | Year 11 & 12 Study Week
04.04.23 – 06.04.23 | Secondary School Camps Week (Years 7 – 10)
05.04.23 | Secondary School Assembly

Whole College

15.03.23 – 27.03.23 | NAPLAN
24.03.23 | School Cross Country Carnival
28.03.23 | Live! @ the Colliery
29.03.23 | Restore Parent Coaching Information night
30.03.23 | BCC Playgroup
03.04.23 | Prayer Warriors Prayer Group
04.04.23 | Beginners Easter Hat Parade #1
06.04.23 | Beginners Easter Hat Parade #2
06.04.23 | BCC Playgroup
07.04.23 – 25.04.23 | School Holidays

Our College Calendar is available on our website where you can be kept up-to-date with events throughout the year. Closer to the event parents and carers will receive communication via the Sentral Parent App and/or email.

Our BCC Annual Festival – A celebration of learning and community is back on in 2023! Pop the 5th December, 2023 (T4/Wk9)  into your calendar, and look forward to a fantastic evening of celebrating student learning and being together as one big BCC community. More details to follow in the coming months.

This is the last week to register for Restore Parent Coaching. The College is working alongside Shelby and Lil from Restore Parent Coaching, and would like to invite our parents and carers to an Information Evening to find out more about this fantastic program. Hear more from Shelby and Lil in the video invite below. We look forward to seeing you soon to find out more about Restore Parent Coaching.

When: Wednesday, 29th March (Week 9/Term 1)

Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Where: College Theatre (near the Library)

Cost: Free

RSVP here

Any questions, please email david.gray@bcc.nsw.edu.au

Uniform has been a focus at the College this week. To make it an easier proposition for students to follow, we’re adopting a ‘gate to gate’ correct uniform approach. Students should wear the correct uniform for the day, and wear it well the whole day. They will receive positive commendations to acknowledge their efforts and negatives when required. In partnership, as a College and as families, we can support each other in the following ways:

• Encouraging kids before they leave home to wear the correct uniform for the day. Checking timetables will prompt students.
• Making sure when they get out of the car on drop off that uniform is correct.
• Reminding students to make sure it is correct when getting off the bus.
• Providing a note when required, explaining if there is an issue.

Already our students are looking better presented, demonstrating pride for our uniform and our College.

We are pleased to have many new staff that have recently joined us here at the College. Over the term you will have the opportunity to learn more about them in our Newsletter.

You may also like to read the Our People page on the College website to find out a little more about all of our staff.

Introducing…

Mr Jonathan Morrison – Primary Teacher

Tell us about your photo.
I love creating art and Star Wars.

What church do you attend?
New City

What church ministries excite you?
Christian Hospitality, being able to share a meal and discuss God and big picture ideas in a comfortable setting.

What makes you look forward to working at BCC?
Friendly and helpful colleagues and staff.

Mr Jordan Peters – Secondary Teacher

Tell us about your photo.
Creating things is a passion of mine. This is a laser cut lamp that I made for my wedding, and when light shines through it, it fills the whole room with the shapes on the lamp. Pretty groovy I think.

What church do you attend?
HopeUC Gateshead

What church ministries excite you?
Before I became a teacher I was very active in youth and kids ministry. I love seeing young people wrestle with their faith and encounter Christ. It is more than just a night or a morning off for parents, it is integral to the faith of our young people.

What makes you look forward to working at BCC?
The staff really care about each other and the students. And the students constantly impress me with how much they care for each other.

Mrs Philippa Richards – Primary Teacher

Tell us about your photo.
I love going to the beach especially with friends and family. I love enjoying God’s beautiful creation.

What church do you attend?
Hunter Bible Church

What church ministries excite you?
Welcoming and connecting new people to church.

What makes you look forward to working at BCC?
The people – families and staff are so lovely. It’s a wonderful community.

Download the Sentral Parent App today!

For all major announcements regarding College Life, student reports & absences, calendar access, newsletters, excursion permissions, fee payments and much more, the College uses the Sentral Parent App. If you have not already, please download the Sentral Parent App by searching ‘Sentral for Parents’ in the App Store on your smartphone and ensure that notifications are enabled within the App. Set up instructions can be found here. If you have any trouble registering, please email the College on sentral@bcc.nsw.edu.au and our friendly IT department will support you through the process.

Primary Music Ensembles

At BCC, we provide many avenues for students to grow in musical ability and appreciation. 

We are so excited for next week to present our performing arts concert “Live! @ the Colliery” – Showcasing the hard work of creative arts students in Primary and Secondary School. We invite all parents to join us at the College Hall on Tuesday 28th of March.

This week, Our Primary school concert band had their first performance of the year – Leading their classmates in the national anthem. Thankyou students!

Music Tutors

You may also like to see the details for our wonderful music tutors here. This includes our new guitar and bass tutor who is excited to take on new students. We have a wonderful tutoring team ready to teach your child one of the following instruments:

• Vocals
• Piano
• Guitar/Bass
• Clarinet/Saxophone
• Flute
• Violin
• Drums/Percussion
• Brass- Trumpet, Trombone

Secondary Musical – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The lead-up to our Secondary Musical is in full swing. We encourage you to take a minute to meet one of our fantastic parent volunteers, Mrs Sarah O’Toole. Hear what it means to Sarah to be part of the musical team. We are so privileged to have our parents join us in these cultural moments….maybe it’s time you got your paper mache on and joined Sarah on the adventure that is our musical!

Primary NSW CSSA Swimming

A team of 17 swimmers headed to Sydney Olympic Park last week, for the NSW CSSA Swimming Carnival. After qualifying through school and leading Belmont to a Zone victory, the swimmers competed in the first ever night carnival for this event.

Our swimmers loved swimming in front of such a big stadium and once again performed very strongly!

Both our Junior Boys (Zirk Lombard, Ashton Millett, Bexley Paterson, Alfie Taylor) and Girls 4x50m Freestyle (Zala Daniels, Sarah Stephens, Darby Lennox, Emma Clayton), along with the Senior Boys team (Blair Gillon, Martin Hallin, Johannes Lombard, Josiah Bell) have qualified for NSW CIS, all finishing in the top 3 of their respective races.

Isabella Maiden (1st 12yr Backstroke), Blair Gillon (2nd 11yr Butterfly, 3rd 50m Freestyle, 3rd 50m Backstroke) and Esther Jenkins (3rd 8yr 50m Freestyle) have all qualified for NSW CIS in individual events.

Skylar Moore put in an exceptional performance on the night, being named NSW CSSA 12yr Age Champion, after winning her 50m Freestyle and Butterfly, 2nd in 50m Breaststroke, 3rd for 200m Individual Medley and 4th in the 100m Freestyle. Skylar will compete in those events at NSW CIS.

Congratulations once again to our Swim team! 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Willow Barry who has been selected in the Mid North Coast and Inland Schools side to play in the AFL NSW All Schools Championship Trials in May, down at Batemans Bay.

Congratulations also to Kobe Monk who competed in the Thredbo Interschools Mountain Bike Event recently.  Kobe competed in the Fox Flow Motion Downhill race and placed a very credible 76th out of 150 riders, and less than a minute behind the winner.

Congratulations to Victoria Robinson for being awarded a CIS Outstanding Sports Achievement – Swimming for 2022.

External Sporting Success

Congratulations to Taylor Donaldson who has been training with the Hunter Hurricanes Water Polo Men’s Team who play in the  Australian Water Polo National League. He recently was selected to play, travelling to Melbourne and is off to Perth next week. Well Done Taylor!

Hi everyone.

During Week 9 of this term, we are again conducting our yearly Handball competition. This is free once you are attending OSHC for the day.

As always, there will be highly sought after trophies for the winners, junior and senior. With the winner of the senior competition (over 8), having the opportunity to compete against other OSHC winners at the Regional Championships. Here a great prize pool will be up for grabs. In the past this has been large cash prizes and gift vouchers. There will also be certificates given next week for effort, great attitudes, and sportsmanship as these are in our opinion, more important than winning. Hope to see you at OSHC soon.

Take care, Michelle and team 😊

To register and book, visit pp.campaustralia.com.au

College Office Hours

The College Office hours are 8am – 4pm.

College Office Contacts

Our Administration Team can be contacted by phoning the College on 4922 8300 and following the prompts or by using the email format firstname.lastname@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

• Primary Administration Assistant: Mrs Deb Paardekooper – Primary enquiries, absences, medical information etc.
• Secondary Administration Assistant: Mrs Kathy Evans – Secondary enquiries, absences, medical information etc.
• Registrar: Ms Teena Knott – enrolment enquiries
• Receptionist: Mrs Sarah Bell & Mrs Laura Ioannides – payments, general enquiries
• Assistant Business Manager: Mrs Michelle Mazzantini – school fee enquiries

Student Messages

If you need to get an urgent message to your child throughout the day please call the College Office on 4922 8300 and let the office know the message. Wherever possible, please try to send these messages to the Office before lunchtime, 1.10pm.

The Office team will endeavour to pass on the message to your child. Due to sports, excursions and changes to location of classes etc it can be difficult to pass the message on in a timely manner. Therefore we cannot guarantee that messages received after 2:00pm will get to the student before the end of the day.

Extended Leave

If you are planning on your child being absent from the College for 6 or more days for the purpose of ‘travel’ you will need to apply to the Principal for ‘Extended Leave – Travel’. Once the Principal grants permission you will be issued with a Certificate of Extended Leave – Travel that you will need to carry with you whilst on leave. This is a NSW State Government requirement. Applications can be downloaded here or acquired from the College Office. Please allow two weeks for processing.

Explaining Absences

Government Attendance Register requirements means that the College must receive explanations of absences within 7 days of the absence for an absence to be included as an ‘explained absence’ on student attendance records. We would value your assistance in this matter to keep your child’s record up to date by providing an explanation within 7 days. We are not able to make any changes to the record after the 7 days.

The most effective way to submit your child’s full day absence is via our Sentral Parent App/Portal. Please note that partial (late or early leave) absences need to be advised by emailing our Primary or Secondary Administration Assistant. Once you have logged in to the App, please follow the steps below: 

1. Select ‘Absences’ from the menu, 
2. Select ‘Notify of an Absence’, 
3. Select your child’s name, 
4. Select the absence ‘Type’ from the drop down box, 
5. Enter the ‘start and end dates’, 
6. Press ‘send’. 

InspirationED Year 12 Webinars

In 2023, University of Newcastle has partnered with InspirationED to deliver a series of free webinars for Year 12 students to help them prepare for the HSC and beyond.

The webinars will also feature a University of Newcastle Student Ambassador who will share details about our new Early Entry Program.  

• Webinar: Strategies for Success in the HSC – 29th, March 2023 – 7.00pm
• Webinar: Preparing for University and Beyond  – 3rd, May 2023 – 7.00pm
• Webinar: Taking Action Towards Your Career – 17th, May 2023 – 7.00pm

Register here for the Taking Action Towards Your Career Webinar 

Enhanced Support for School Leavers

HSC and Careers Expo 2023

Thursday 1st – Saturday 3rd June 2023, 9:00am – 3:00pm

Are you the parent of an HSC student who is uncertain about their future path? Help them make an informed choice by bringing them along to the HSC and Careers Expo 2023, Thursday, 1st June, Friday, 2nd June and Saturday 3rd, June, 9am-3pm at Royal Randwick Racecourse. For more information, please see the Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – or visit the website: https://www.hscandcareers.com.au/

If you have any queries about the College uniform, make sure you visit our dedicated Uniform page on the College website. Alternatively, get in touch with our uniform partner, Alinta Apparel.

Uniform Shop closed during April School Holidays

The uniform shop will be closed during the April School Holidays. Any online orders will need to be placed first week of the holidays to allow for postage in the second week if needed before school returns in Term 2.

Our Coins for Compassion day in 2022 raised an amazing $10650. Coins for Compassion day is now an important part of the culture at Belmont Christian College as we teach our students the importance of missions and looking out for those less fortunate than ourselves. Our student body, from the youngest to the oldest embrace the day, bring in their coins and enjoy the fun and community on the last day of Term 2.

Last year we raised funds to continue sponsoring our five Compassion children but we were also aiming to raise enough money to open a brand new Compassion project in the Philippines.  We were delighted to receive news from Compassion that a centre opened in October which was fully funded by Belmont Christian College.  Shalom Child Development Centre will give up to 100 children access to education, healthcare, nutrition and spiritual oversight enabling them to potentially break the cycle of poverty that exists within their families.

What an amazing achievement by our students to impact the lives of so many children in need in another country.  We look forward to Coins for Compassion Day on the last day of Term 2 this year and are grateful for the opportunities that this day brings us as a College.

If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their
routine school vaccinations.
In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and
human papillomavirus (HPV). In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY
vaccine.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.
How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit:
   https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
2. Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same
   account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a
   ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
3. Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
   a) Enter your child’s personal details
   b) Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
   c) Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
   d) Provide consent
   If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting
   a paper-based consent form directly from the College.

The benefits of providing consent online:
• easily update your child’s details
• receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
• faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit
www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.

Mathseeds

Mathseeds is a comprehensive online Mathematics program for children aged 3-9. It offers a huge range of carefully structured lessons and activities that build mathematical skills over a broad range of number, shape and measurement topics. The Mathseeds program is packed full of enjoyable child-focused activities that makes learning a rewarding and meaningful experience. It teaches fundamental concepts in a fun, motivating and engaging way, whilst rewarding children for their efforts.

The benefits of Mathseeds include:

~ A wide variety of lessons and activities that have been created by educational experts. Each lesson is carefully structured to build early mathematical skills.
~ Once a lesson is complete, it can be repeated as many times as needed.
~ Mathseeds provides parents with a simple “dashboard” to show each child’s mathematical progress.
~ Children can progress at their own level.
~ Each child can create their own avatar/online character.
~ Golden Acorns rewards can be used to add items to the child’s online treehouse or avatar.
~ Children love collecting the Pets – a new pet hatches at the end of every lesson.
~ Children receive a certificate after successfully completing the quiz at the end of every map.

If you would like extra information please refer to the website at https://mathseeds.com.au/?_ga=2.131044809.739665369.1583202549-294607997.1583202549.

Registration and payments can be made by contacting Mrs Deborah Paardekooper at the College Office. A yearly subscription is available at a discounted price of $30.

Reading Eggs

Learning to read is one of the most important skills children can learn. ABC Reading Eggs makes the learning to read journey fun, interactive, and highly rewarding for ages 2-13. ABC Reading Eggs were created by a highly experienced team of Australian Primary school teachers, writers and developers to help children become fluent and proficient readers. The multi-award winning early learning resource supports your child’s learning to read journey with carefully designed online reading games and activities that are easy to follow, self-paced, and highly engaging for young learners.

~ The lessons use colourful animation, fun characters, songs, and rewards to keep children motivated.
~ The program is completely interactive to keep children on task.
~ When children start the program, they can complete a placement quiz to ensure they are starting at the correct reading level.
~ Parents can access detailed progress reports as well as hundreds of full-colour downloadable activity sheets that correspond with the lessons in the program.
~ The program includes over 2000 online books for kids – each ending with a comprehension quiz that assesses your child’s understanding.

If you would like extra information please refer to the website at https://readingeggs.com.au/.

Registration and payments can be made by contacting Mrs Deborah Paardekooper at the College Office on 4922 8311 or deb.paardekooper@bcc.nsw.edu.au. A yearly subscription is available at a discounted price of $30.

Entertainment Book Available Now

Entertainment Memberships are now 100% digital. Saying goodbye to the iconic Book wasn’t easy but the new Entertainment Memberships start anytime and are valid for 12 months from activation. Packed with thousands of substantial savings to delight and inspire, an Entertainment Membership is your pass to exclusive offers and quality experiences, activities and benefits. The digital membership is easy to download to start using instantly. New offers are added weekly for ongoing value all year round.

Benefits of the App include:

~ User-friendly: Instantly search and redeem offers or check out the Near Me tab to find offers, wherever you are.

~ Memberships start anytime: Flexible start date, Memberships are valid for 12 months from when you activate.

~ Multiple devices: You can still share your Membership with your family. Encourage your partner and kids to download the App so they can access valuable savings when out.

~ Convenient: The App means that as long as you have your phone, you have your Membership too (no more lugging around the book).

~ Easy gifting: We’ve made it simpler than ever to gift an Entertainment Membership – simply purchase from your chosen fundraiser and the gift Membership will be delivered instantly to your inbox.